


At Peace

by sunlightdances (glowinghorizons)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24180397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowinghorizons/pseuds/sunlightdances
Summary: When Steve and Tony go to Camp Lehigh to get the Tesseract, they’re almost caught. Steve turns to the one person he thinks can help them get out unscathed, and finally closes the one remaining door to his past so he can move on in the future.
Relationships: Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 61





	At Peace

**Author's Note:**

> No Endgame hate here, please! I didn’t hate the ending for Steve, but didn’t love it either. This is my take on what could have happened with the addition of a reader insert. I came up with this idea in the shower and wrote it in 2 hours so pls be nice if it sucks!!!!

“You know,” Tony muses on Steve’s right, “You’re not normally the one with the stupid ideas. It’s a nice change, honestly.”

Steve rolls his eyes, but the pair keep walking, eyes downcast, hats pulled low over their foreheads. Yes, this is probably the worst idea and it’s sure to screw the whole plan. But what else do they have to lose?

“That woman from the elevator is already onto us, so this is our best shot.”

“It’s our best shot to get arrested, yes.”

Steve stops short, jaw clenching hard. “Do you have a better idea?”

Tony sighs. “I guess not. Come on, let’s go meet your woman–”

Steve stops short again, his tone icy. “ _Don’t_ –” He shuts his eyes. “Please, Tony, for once in your life, leave the talking to me.” There’s a sad undertone to his voice, a kind of desperation that Tony doesn’t hear often, so he nods, leaving the jokes behind.

Steve finds the office door he’s looking for, and takes a deep breath before opening it and shoving Tony inside, locking the door behind the both of them.

Peggy stands, affronted. “Excuse me, this is a private office–” She stops as Steve steps into the light, her eyes widening for half a second before they narrow.

Steve isn’t sure which Peggy to expect. He doesn’t think she’s going to break down and cry, but he’s also not entirely sure she’s not going to shoot him either. Tony takes a large step back when she glances down and grabs the first thing she can threaten them with - a letter opener.

“Tell me who you are, right _now_.” Her voice is stern, though a little shaky.

“Peggy, put it down.”

“If you think–”

“It’s me, Peg. It’s Steve.”

He sees her shoulders sag, though she doesn’t drop her guard. “You’re dead.”

“Not anymore,” Tony mutters, and Steve elbows him hard in the ribs.

“I know this is hard to believe, but I can prove it,” Steve says, taking a small step forward, heart tightening when she takes an imperceptible step backward. “That last conversation we had, when I was in the plane. I told you I’d meet you at the Stork Club. That we’d have the band play something slow so I wouldn’t step on your feet.” He smiles softly. “Remember?”

“Of course I remember, you idiot.” She says, voice choked, a single tear making its way down her cheek, despite the letter opener she’s still brandishing.

“I don’t have a lot of time, but I need your help,” Steve says as he gets a step closer, close enough to gently grasp her wrist and lower it.

“Steve.” She says on a sob, and then she’s in his arms.

.

.

.

“Let me get this straight. You need to steal the cube _and_ something from Hank Pym’s lab?” Peggy asks incredulously.

Tony snorts. “Everything you’ve heard, and _that’s_ the part you’re not sure about?”

She gives Tony a _look_. “Mr. Stark, you may be your father’s son, but you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t find your jokes all that hilarious at the moment.”

Steve bites back a smile. “I know we’re asking a lot,” he says, serious once more, “but the entire world is at stake. Please, we have to get out of here unseen. If we fail at this–”

“We’re not going to.” Tony says, firm. “There’s no other option.” He meets Steve’s eyes. “Whatever it takes, remember?”

Steve swallows. All the arguments and years lost between him and Tony evaporate. Just like that, they’re brothers in arms once more. “Whatever it takes,” he murmurs.

Meeting Peggy’s gaze, she looks between the two, and Steve thinks he sees in the moment when it clicks for her how serious this is. “First of all, stop talking about the future in front of me. I’ve read enough novels to know that isn’t a good idea, and the two of you don’t need to get in any more trouble, clearly.”

“So you’ll help?”

She fidgets. “Yes. I’ll help you. I’ll schedule a meeting with Howard and Hank so they won’t be near their labs when you go down. I can’t do much about security, so you’ll have to be quick and stay out of sight.”

Steve nods, “Thank you.”

"And for God's sake, find a better disguise than glasses and a hat. Both of you."

.

.

.

It’s not until over an hour later, after some sneaking around, some nearly getting caught, and Peggy having to save their asses yet _again_ , that he gets a minute alone with her.

“I just wanted to– I have to go back, but I couldn’t leave without telling you something.”

“Steve, don’t.”

“No, it’s– it’s nothing that’s going to change anything.” Steve smiles. “I just want you to know– I loved you, Peg. Still do, really.” He takes a deep breath. “Probably always will.”

“Steve,” it’s a warning, but there’s old feelings there that he can hear in her voice. “Then I need you to know – I’m happy, Steve. You saved my life. You saved all of our lives. And I miss you terribly. Underneath it all, you were my closest friend.” Another tear slips out. “And I love you too, Steve. But you have to know that I’m happy. I found someone, and I have a career that I love… you did exactly what you were supposed to do. You saved the world.”

Steve’s eyes are a little glassy, but he hardens his resolve. “I have someone, now. In my time.” He shrugs. “I think, anyway. It’s been– what we’re going through right now has been hard. I haven’t had the guts to have the conversation with her yet.”

Peggy smiles. “Still have no idea how to talk to women?”

Steve rolls his eyes, but chuckles. “I guess not.”

“You should be happy, Steve.” Peggy’s voice is soft.

Steve’s mind drifts to you, how happy you already make him, even if you don’t realize how much. He has so much he needs to talk to you about, but he has to keep you alive first. He has to keep himself and his family alive.

“Thanks, Peggy.” He says, and pulls her into his arms one last time.

.

.

.

They did it.

They actually fucking did it.

Steve has never been more tired in his entire life. He’s exhausted, and every single bone in his body hurts. He’s on his knees next to Tony who is barely hanging on, and has to take a minute to let it all sink in.

They won.

There’s voices all around him, frantic, asking about the cradle, and if the medical bay survived the explosion, and Steve has to fight to get back into Captain mode and save his friend’s life.

On his right, Natasha limps forward, her cheek bleeding, but a bittersweet smile on her face. “You did it,” she whispers, and Steve shakes his head.

“ _We_ did.”

He and Scott and Rhodey get Tony somewhere safe, and Bruce manages to stabilize him, despite knowing he’s going to lose functionality in a lot of his arm.

“I’ll just get one to match Tin Man, it’s fine,” Tony mumbles, and that’s when they all know he’s going to be okay. Leaving Pepper and Peter with Tony, Steve sets off to find the one person he had to force himself not to look for during the fight.

Some of the Wakandans are setting up a triage area in parts of the compound, and he passes through them as he scans the crowd until he spots you.

You’re there with Sam, his arm slung around your waist, yours over his shoulder, keeping all your weight off one leg. His breath leaves him when your eyes meet his, and he’s moving before he can even comprehend what he’s doing.

Your name escapes on a breath when he’s close enough, and then you’re letting go of Sam, almost collapsing into Steve’s arms.

“Steve,” you say, “You’re alive.”

“So are you,” he says, your face pressing into the side of his neck as you embrace. Steve shudders, thinking how close it could have been to losing you forever.

He finally has closure with Peggy, but he almost didn’t have it with you. He can’t make that mistake again.

He meets Sam’s eyes and nods, holding you to his side as he tries to give a half-hug to his friend, his heart overflowing with relief.

“Bucky?” He stutters, grief eating at him when he doesn’t see his oldest friend anywhere amongst the crowd.

“He was helping people get inside,” you say quietly, “He’s probably in there.”

Steve’s eyes fall closed at one more confirmation that so far everyone he loves is in one piece. “Of course he is,” he laughs quietly, “he’s just hoping there’s nurses there.”

“I heard that,” a gruff voice says behind him, and then there it is, the final piece of his family clicking into place.

The residences are part of the only bit of the compound that wasn’t destroyed by the explosion. Steve hasn’t been to his room in months - only when he would come by to check on Nat, and when they started work on time travel.

It’s a little strange for him to be in here now, but his focus isn’t on that. You were exhausted and after being told (none too gently) by Pepper that there wasn’t anything else for him to do now, he carried you back here.

He can’t seem to let you out of his sight.

He’s bone tired too, and the prospect of a nap with you is too much to resist. He carries you bridal style through the dark living area and kitchen until he reaches his bedroom, the sheets tucked neatly into the corners, army style.

You stir in his arms slightly, but otherwise stay asleep. He sets you down and gets you situated before straightening, his eyes committing every bit of this scene to memory. You have stitches on your cheekbone and dark circles under your eyes, and Steve curses himself for not checking in with you more, making sure you were okay…

He shakes his head and tries to quiet his thoughts. A shower first, and then he’s going to join you, propriety be damned.

His own body is tired, the serum working overtime to heal the cuts and bruises scattered across his arms and torso. His left hand is likely broken, he thinks, remembering it shaking when he tried to take off his broken shield.

He’ll worry about it in the morning. Right now he has more important things to sort out.

He’s only gone for fifteen minutes, but it’s enough for you to be awake when he comes back to the bedroom, and there’s a minute where you both stop and stare at each other, time suspended.

“Hey,” you say, and he crosses the room to sit at the edge of the bed.

“Hi.”

“Long day,” you sigh, winking at him.

“The longest.” He agrees, moving a little closer until you’re shoulder to shoulder.

“I can’t believe we actually pulled it off.”

Steve shakes his head. “I know. I’m– You have no idea how relieved I was to see you.” He hears Peggy’s voice in his head telling him to finally have this conversation. He can’t put it off anymore. He’s done wasting time.

“Me too, Steve.”

He reaches for your hand, lacing your fingers together. “I hope I’m not getting this all wrong. I– I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

Your hand shakes a little in his. “Thank me?”

He smiles, nods. “Yeah. Thank you for… for giving me something else to fight for. Something that I never thought I’d have.”

“Steve…”

“Wait, just– before you say anything, let me get this out.” He tells you everything, about how the trip back in time was with Scott and Tony, and how he had to go back even further and about Peggy. “She basically told me to quit moping and just tell you how I feel.”

You laugh, but it’s a little watery. Steve plows on, “I fell in love with you years ago, and I should have told you from the start. Either one of us could have died today, and I can’t let any more time go by without you knowing how much I care about you.”

Your throat is too tight to say anything, but you pull him close, arms around his torso, soaking up his warmth.

“I’m sorry I’ve been distant,” he says quietly, lips brushing against your neck where his face is pressed. “The last few months… you didn’t deserve that.”

“You were focused on trying to save the world,” you scoff. “As excuses go, that’s a pretty good one.”

Steve pulls back a little so he can meet your eyes. “I don’t know what the future holds for me, but as long as you’re here, I think I can handle it.” He smiles, that crooked smile you’ve grown so fond of. “I’m done trying to make up for the mistakes of the past. I’m ready to move on.”

“Me too, Steve.” You whisper. “I love you.”

Steve knows there’s more to do - he has to help his family and the rest of the world adjust to their new lives post-Thanos, but knowing he finally has all the broken pieces of his life safe, alive, and by his side for the process? It’s more than he could have hoped for.

Going to sleep that night with you in his arms, he finally feels at peace.


End file.
